Mentors giving back to South Bend's schools

October 27, 2008|CHERYL BARKER Special to The Tribune

Last November my husband, Sy, retired after 35 years of working for the same company. We suddenly had a lot of time on our hands and wanted to do something special with it. At the time, a lot of publicity was being given to the South Bend Community School Corp.'s mentoring program, so we decided to give it a try. We began in March 2008, after the holidays and after a monthlong trip to Arizona to visit our daughter. Both of our children -- son, Jarrod and daughter, Lauren -- are graduates of Clay High School and have gone on to earn professional degrees. So, we do owe the SBCSC a debt of gratitude, which in our own way we are trying to repay. I chose to start with a child in primary school because I thought that it would be easier to begin a relationship with a younger child. My husband chose to start with a middle school student, and I think a lot of his decision was based on encouragement from a middle school principal. He knew that a middle school boy would probably be more of a challenge. Both of us were right in our assessments. My student, Elizabeth, now a fourth-grader at McKinley, is sweet and giggly, a truly nice kid. When we started out, she was a third-grader at Perley, but she is now at McKinley. Elizabeth was born in Liberia and it just so happened that her three best friends were from Rwanda, Congo and Kenya, so the four of us usually met for lunch in a special room at Perley. Over lunch we would discuss the classroom, teachers, and their countries of origin. We would read books and play games. Their teacher, Mrs. C, was a great help in letting me know ways that I could help if Elizabeth was having any problems. The guidance counselor at Perley was also very helpful in directing me in ways that would help Elizabeth. At McKinley we are once again meeting at lunch. This year Mr. Guzman is Elizabeth's fourth-grade teacher, and once again she has a teacher who seems to be interested in making sure that we both get as much as we can out of the mentoring program. I have really enjoyed my experience with Elizabeth and I think she has grown by the experience. The hugs and smiles I get from the girls encourage me to come back every week. I hope that by the time they're in high school, they will understand how valuable an education is and they will be willing to give something back. My husband's experience at Brown Middle School has been a lot more challenging. For one thing, middle school boys are not the most talkative students. He has brought games, books, and sports magazines for them to discuss, and they are still plugging along. The SBCSC sponsored a baseball game at Coveleski last spring, which he and D attended. (I also took Elizabeth and friends). This year Sy and D and a friend of D's went to a Notre Dame game, which both boys said they enjoyed. With a middle school student, it takes a lot more effort and perseverance, but we hope that in the end the reward will be that much greater for both. Cheryl and Sy Barker have lived in South Bend for 16 years.